Political Dig

Police in Moore, Oklahoma has released body cam footage from the night then-state senator Ralph Shortey was found in a hotel room with a teen boy. He was arrested and charged with state child prostitution charges.

The former Republican state senator from Oklahoma City pleaded guilty to child sex trafficking in federal court last week; in exchange, child pornography charges were dropped.

Shortey, 35, was charged in federal court in September after a months-long investigation that started in March 2017 when he was found in a Moore hotel room with a 17-year-old boy.

Police were called to the Super 8 Motel, located at 1520 I-35, in the early morning hours of March 9 for a welfare check. Moore police released body cam video Monday from multiple officers who responded to the call.

“So, what are they saying?” asked one of the responding officers.

“Well, drug-related, maybe,” replied another officer. “Maybe was coming here to buy some weed. Either here for narcotics, or prostitution for narcotics.”

“Like, the kid’s prostituting himself out?”

The video shows police attempting, for several minutes, to get people from inside the first-floor room to come outside.

Shortey answered the door in a white t-shirt with the words Ephesians 5:22, a bible verse, written on it, as well as “now go make me a sandwich” written below an image of a sandwich. The bible verse is in reference to women submitting to their husband’s will, as they do to the Lord.